Vehicle-wheel



J. L. COHEN.

VEHICLE WHEEL.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 22. 1919.

PatentedSept. 6, 1921.

INVENTOR L- Caien A TTO/CNEV PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH L. COHEN, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

VEHICLE-WHEEL.

Application filed March 22, 1919.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JOSEPH L. CoHnN, acitizen of the United States, and a resident of the borough ofManhattan, in the city, county, and State of New York, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Vehicle-Wheels, of which thefollowing is a specification. I

The present invention relates to improvements in vehicle wheels, and hasfor an object to provide a wheel having a relatively high degree ofresiliency, and adapted to absorb shocks from the road and at the sametime maintain the position of the axle, to the end that the shocks willbe practically unfelt by the occupants of the car.

A further object is to provide a wheel in which suspension of the carwill be substantially rigid while its support will be yield able, sothat although the axle will remain in a constant concentric relation tothe suspension portion of the rim, that portion of the rim engaging theroad will yield to variations in the road, and shocks therefrom will betaken up, isolated and absorbed in the supporting portion of the wheelwith the result'that the car will ride easily at all times. I propose toprovide an improved tire carrying rim detachable from the spokes, andfurther to provide spokes detachable from the hub and having theadvantage of permitting the carrying of an extra tire in condition atall times to be immediately used without the necessity of carrying anextra wheel. Further advantages are simplicity of construction, facilityin the removal and renewal of tires,

' and economy both in the manufacture and cost of maintenance.

With these and other objects in view, an embodiment of my invention isshown in the accompanying drawings and this embodiment' will behereinafter more fully describedwith reference thereto, and theinvention will be finally pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings: a

Figure 1- is a side elevation of a vehicle wheel embodying one form ofmy invention, the half shown at one side of the center line ab.being thefront side of the wheel, while the other half shows the reverse side;

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. e, 1921.

Serial No. 284,362.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the two rim members and showing the sameseparated;

big. 4 is a perspective View of one of the spoke members removed fromthe wheel; and

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the hub;

Similar reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout theseveral figures of the drawings.

Referring to the drawings, the embodiment of my invention shown thereinoomprises a rim consisting of two parts 10 and 11 formed of metal havinga relatively high degree of resiliency to permit of local deflectionthereof at the portion adjacent the road as will more fully hereinafterappear.

The rim portion 10 is relatively wider than the rim portion 11 and isprovided at its outer side with a flange 12 having a plurality of spacedout-outs 13 in line with the axes of the spoke members, these cut-outsextending to the lateral portion of the rim and being of sufficientwidth to permit of deflection of the rim. The rim portion 11 is providedwith a flange 1d similar to the flange 12, and also provided with aplurality of spaced cut-outs 15.

At the inner side and adjacent the inner edge of the rim 10 there areprovided in spaced relation and substantially intermediate the out-outs13, a plurality of recesses 16 open at their inner sides and having pins17 disposed therein. Upon the inner edge of the rim 11 and opposed tothe recesses 16 there are provided projecting portions 18 having theirouter surfaces depressed relatively to the outer surface of the rim sothat the projections may be engaged with the recesses 16 and at the sametime the outer and inner surfaces of the two rim portions will be flushwith each other. The projecting portions 18 are shorter than therecesses to permit of a small turning of the rims relatively to eachother when engaged,iand are provided with bayonet slots '19 adapted toengage the pins 17 and lock the rims together upon turning of one rimrelatively to the other.

Channeled retaining members 20 having flanged longitudinal sides 21 and22 bent inwardly as at 23 and 24, are secured to the inner side of therim 10 by means of rivets 25 in line with the cut-outs 13 and extendfrom the outer side of the rim 10 to the outer side of the rim 11 whenthe rims are engaged, the said members for this purpose projectingbeyond the inner edge of the rim 10. It will be understood that themembers 20 may be secured by welding or other suitable processes, ifdesired.

A plurality of radially disposed lugs 26 are provided upon the flange 14of the rim 11 and project over the cut-outs 15, being secured at onesidethereof by means of rivets 27, the flange at the other side beingfree of the lugsso that the rim may be deflected locally. These lugsproject inwardly over the ends of the channeled members 20 in theengaged relationof the rims and are provided with apertures 28 disposedradially inward of the channeled members. 7

r The cylindrical hub 29 is provided at its inner end with a flange 30and at its outer end is reduced and screw threaded as at 31 to receive acap. Upon the cylindrical portion thereof there are formed a pluralityof spaced longitudinal ribs having their sides inclined inwardly,providing therebetween longitudinal dovetail recesses 33 correspondingin number. to and in radial alinement with the channeled retainingmembers 20.

V The tire 34, which may be of any suitable type or shape, is disposedupon the rims 10 and lland'is held in place by the flanges 12 and 14. Inthe case of clencher type or other special types of tires, it will beunderstood that the flanges 12 and 14 may be so designed as toaccommodate them.

The spoke members each comprise a rectangularbase 35 having outwardlyinclined longitudinal sides, adapted to be slid into engagement withone'of the recesses 33 and held in place upon the hub by means of aretaining ring 36 screwed upon the threaded portion 31 of the hub,adjacent the ends of the ribs 32. Secured to the base 35 andextendingradially outwardly therefrom there are; provided pairs. of oppositelybowed spring members 39 and 40, 4-1 and 42, one

pair being bowed in the plane of the wheel.

rim, while the other pair is in a radial plane passing through the axisof the hub. The spring members ofeach pair are preferably formed of'onepiece flattened intermediately theirends as at 43 and 44 and overlappingat their ends as at 45 and46, the overlapping portions being beveled.

NVithin the. spring members there is disposed a suspensionsupportingmember yield able under compression and comprising a cylindrical member47 held at'its base by means of 'a-bolt- 48 passingtherethrough andthrough the ends of the spring members and screwed into the base 35. Apiston 49 is slidably' disposed in the member 47 the shaft; 50 of IIwhich extends outwardly through' the apertured cap 51 secured to theouter-end of the said member, the outer end Of-thshift being threaded asat 52, pass ing through the outer ends of the spring members and screwedinto the rectangular spoke head 53., The head 53' is slidably engaged inthe channeled member 20 and is bent upwardly at one end as at 54 to forman abutment to engage the inner edge of the rim. At the other end it isprovided with a downwardly bent portion 55 adapted to register with thelug 26, disposed at the end of the member 20, and is provided with athreaded stud 56 adapted to engage the aper- 'ture 28 of the said lug 26to secure the spoke of compression so that irregularities in the roadwill compress them, the rimbeing locally deflected with the result thatshocks therefrom will be taken up and absorbed and entirely isolatedfromthe hub, 7 Extra tires ready for use, may be'carried upon rims similarto the rim of the wheel, and re )laceable therewith by removal ofithenuts 5! and disengagement of the wheel rim with the tire thereon fromthe spoke members. Thus, it ispossible to carry extra tires ready foruse without the necessity of carrying complete extra wheels. The wheelaccording to my invention, is light, economical and simple inconstruction, and will stand up under all ordinary conditionsof use. 7 1I 1 I Ihave illustrated and described a preferred and satisfactoryembodiment of my invention, but it is obvious that changes may be madetherein within the spirit and scope thereof as defined in the appendedclaims.

I claim: Y j

1. In a vehicle wheel, a'hub', a rim, spoke members each comprisingsprings bowed in intersecting planes, and suspensionsupport ing-meansassociated with saidsprings.

2. In a vehicle wheel',-a hub, a'rim, and spoke members therebetween,each: comprising spring means, and means connectingsaid hub and rim,said last named means being non-extensible from its normal position andadapted to be contracted"from' its normal position. v r

3. In a vehicle wheel, ahub, a resilient rim, and spoke memberstherebetween, each comprising spring means and'means con 7 neeting saidhub andsaid -rim, saidlast named means being non-extensible from: its

of said rim and adapted to be contracted from its normal position topermit of local deflection of said rim.

4. In a wheel, a hub, a resilient rim provided with side flanges, a tiredisposed upon said rim between said side flanges, and spoke membersdisposed between said hub and said rim, each comprising spring means andmeans connecting said hub and rim, said last named means beingnon-extensible from its normal position to prevent radial expansion ofsaid rim and adapted to be contracted from its normal position, saidflanges of said rim being provided with cut-out portions in alinementwith the axes of said spoke members and adapted to permit said rim to bedeflected locally contiguous to said spoke members as they arecontracted.

5. In a vehicle wheel, a hub, a rim, and spoke members each comprisingpairs of outwardly-bowed springs and attaching members securing the endsof the springs tc-- gether at opposite ends of the spoke and adapted forinterlocking engagement respectively with the hub and rim.

6. In a vehicle wheel, a hub having looking ribs, a rim having flangeswith cut-away portions, locking members secured within the rim at saidcut-away portions, spring spoke members having interlocking portions onopposite ends to engage said locking members of the hub and rim, andmeans carried by the outer interlocking portions of the spoke membersfor engaging opposite sides of the rim and for bridging the cutawayportions thereof.

7 In a vehicle Wheel, a hub, a rim, spoke groups therebetween, eachcomprising a pair of oppositely bowed spring means disposed in thevertical plane of the rim, and a pair of oppositely bowed spring meansin a plane at right angles thereto, and arranged about the same radialaxis, the degree of curvature and tension of one pair of said bowedspring means being greater than the degree of curvature and tension ofthe other pair.

8. In a vehicle wheel, a hub, resilient spoke members, a tire carryingrim removably mounted on said spoke members, provided at itscircumferential edges with tire retaining flanges, said flanges beingprovided with radially disposed cut-outs in spaced relation to eachother, substantially in radial alinement with said resilient spokemembers, and adapted to permit local deflection of said run.

9. In a vehicle wheel, a hub, a plurality of resilient spoke membersmounted on the hub and extending radially outward therefrom, a rimmounted directly onthe outer ends of the spoke members and havingoutstanding tire engaging flanges interrupted at the points ofconnection of said rim with said spoke members to provide cut-awayportions in the flanges, and means carried by the spoke members forengaging opposite sides of the rim and for bridging the cut-awayportions of the flanges.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention, I have signedmy name hereunder.

JOSEPH L. COHEN.

